urloozn

Hello boys and girls! It's been quite a while since I've posted on here, and that is partly the reason that I am putting the Big Black Bird up for sale. I have owned it since summer of 2002 and it was a one owner before that. At the moment she has about 63k-ish miles on it and those are mostly traveling. We used to ride with a small group that would hit 250 to 400 miles a day every weekend so it's relatively easy miles. I'll try to list as much as I can below but I am at work and sort of in a time crunch. I'll post some pics and try to field any questions you may have as they come. Here goes: - Located in Hammond, LA - HELI bars - Removable (not on it now) soft saddle bag frames - BRAKING wave rotors - DIGI digital gear indicator - Huge expandable soft saddlebags - Possible tank bag. I may keep the one that is on it and replace it with a new one if sold. Sentimental reasons.... - Tucked in license plate and smaller tail lights - Additional tail lights inside of the tail section (to be seen better with the saddle bags on) - LED 'Blinky lights' inside of the tail light - Upgraded headlights (non-LED. Just a higher wattage) - Upgraded cam chain tensioner - Mobil 1 synthetic oil since new. - New clutch and Barnett springs about 1k ago. - Tires are about 50% - Frame plugs to match the special bolts - Handlebar ends machined to match the special bolts - Extra set of side panels and 'nose section'. Slightly damaged. I kept them to use on a track day but never did it. I'm sure I'll remember other things but that's all I can think of right this second. I will see if I have any recent pics to post later on. Asking $3000 obo. Thanks for reading this far! Update: HOLY SMOKES! I can't believe I forgot to add this other stuff! It just proves that it hasn't been at the forefront of my attention: - Micron carbon fiber slip on exhausts - Factory Honda center stand - Nelson Riggs mid-weight cover - Gold anodized adjustable levers - Replaced the cam chain tensioner with the later model upgraded one - 12v power port under the seat - PC2 Power Commander. 132 rwhp on day of dyno tuning (map cd to be included) - 'Check Engine' light is on. Code is 'Knock sensor', which is common with this vintage of PC2. I changed the sensor to see if it would clear but it didn't. If you were to upgrade it to a PC3 you don't have this issue because it is a more advanced unit and accounts for whatever is tripping the code. - All maintenance is up to date but I will still do another oil change at the time of sale. - All maintenance records (receipts, labels, instructions etc. - Wife says I'm OCD about that stuff...) Still at work so I can't really find any pictures of it out here. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll answer them.

I have been having this issue for years. I have a PCII on mine that has been dyno tuned for my application (K&N, Micron CF Slip-ons). It keeps throwing the code for the knock sensor. It isn't a shut down, but a warning only. I contacted Dynojet and this is the reply that I got from them: " The PC2 should not interfere or offset any signals from the bike’s knock sensor. It works by offsetting the signals of the bike’s barometric pressure sensor (atmospheric air pressure), throttle position sensor, MAP sensor (manifold pressure), and crank position sensor (for ignition timing adjustment). Any wires that are relating to the bike’s knock sensor should only be passed straight through the harness from one connector to the next, without connecting to the module whatsoever. You might find out what pins on the ECU relate to the knock sensor and test the continuity of those pins across the PC2 harness. The Power Commander might also be pulling out enough fuel to where the engine is knocking, or adding enough timing to make the engine knock. See if it does the same thing with a zero map loaded. There isn’t any firmware updates available on the older units. Also try retarding the timing in the ignition table to keep the bike from knocking. Make sure you don’t have any intake leaks. Also make sure the bike doesn’t have bad gas in it. Your worst case scenario is having to update to the PC3usb, if this code never comes up without the Power Commander plugged in. Let me know if you have any further questions. Regards, Chris Kelly Dynojet Research Inc. 2191 Mendenhall Dr. Suite 105 North Las Vegas, NV 89081 1-800-992-4993" It sounds like the previous advice you got here is relevant as well - check the connections and ground. I had to buy a $40 patch cable because the original one that came with the PCII had a plug that computers don't use anymore. This one goes from whatever that is to USB so I can connect it to my laptop. It doesn't run bad or anything so I haven't tried the adjustments that he suggested but that isn't to say that they don't work. Good luck!

Is the seat still for sale? I had one in carbon look before and I regret selling it. Wife was riding my 'Bird and couldn't reach the ground with it. Now I have reclaimed it and I am trying to get her back to her former glory. Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your wreck, but I'm glad you're OK. I have a '99 Bird that my wife was riding for about a year or so. I had been riding my own '07 Tiger during that time. Love it...great bike. But I rode the 'Bird last weekend and remembered why I have kept it since '02. THAT is a great bike. I'm just fortunate to be able to have the Tiger AND the Bird!

Kind of old....but is the seat still available?

Hello boys and girls! Here is a copy of the letter I just sent to J&M regarding the trouble the 'Bird is having. I tried to be as thorough as I could: Hello! I'll try to keep this short but there is a lot of information to relay. I have a 1999 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird that I recently put a JMCB-2003-DU radio on. It is powered through a relay that fires with with the ignition through the license plate light. It worked fine for a while but has started to give me some problems. My wife complained that while slowly rolling into a parking lot the bike stalled when she keyed the mike (obvously not on VOX.) I thought she was crazy but I decided to check the system out anyway. All of my connections were soldered and still intact with no arcing evident. All wires had good continuity. I put a meter on the battery and ran the engine up to about 3000rpms. It was making about 14.1 volts. If I kept it at that speed and keyed the mike it would drop about .1 volts until she actually spoke into the headset. At that point the battery would drop to about 5 volts and the engine would stutter/stall. Since the battery is about 3 years old I thought it might be toast so I removed it and had it checked. Just as I thought, bad battery. So I bought a new battery and tried it again. This time it only dropped to about 9.5 volts but when I transmitted I lost all power to my instruments (Needles all went to zero and even the clock went dead.) As soon as I released the button the instuments all went back to their correct state. The Honda VFR and Blackbird are both known for eating regulator/rectifiers over time so I checked that component as well. The continuity was good everywhere but the regulator plug was a little yellowed and looked as if it had gotten quite hot in the past (remember, this is a 10 year old bike with 60k on it.) My question to you is twofold: First, have you ever heard of any problems like this before? Second, would these symptoms be indicative of a bad reg/rec? The instruments on the 'bird are all electronic. They function in the millivolt range and are susceptible to interference. I thought that since this is such a powerful radio that it may be interfering with the electronics in the dash. Both radio and dash should be shielded and it shouldn't affect each other, but the possibility is there. If the regulator is faulty then the voltage spikes or the inability to maintain voltage during a load could be the culprit. Any and all advice will be appreciated! So what do ya'll think? The regulator checked out but as I mentioned the yellow plug was a little burnt and showed signs of having gotten really hot in the past. I thought I would get info from all angles before I shelled another $150 for another component that still doesn't fix the problem. Also, is it really worth it to do the R1 swap? And is it even possible for the '99 to do that? I've only heard of it with the carbureted models. So let the bad/good advice fly!

There was a little critter that would do just what you were mentioning with the chain. I had one on my race bike way back when but I can't remember tha name of it. It bolted just aft of the countershaft sprocket and basically was a spring loaded teeter-totter with rollers on each end for the chain to run on(mind you, the whole thing was about three inches long). Your chain tension had to be spot on but what it would do is eliminate a lot of the effect that chain torque has on your suspension on acceleration. Usually the physics of it all causes your rear suspension to essentially become rigid at a certain point. This doohicky gave you a little more 'stroke' ,so to speak, so that torque produced wasn't wasted on tightening the suspension and it got to the ground. I noticed a tremendous advantage after I installed it compared to stock. Might be something to look into. Especially when dealing with that much power.

Hey boys, sorry to hijack the thread but my question may be relevant to you all anyway. I just changed the chain and sprockets on my '99 and the new countershaft sprocket (17t from Drive Systems) is much thinner than the one I am replacing. The stock one has sort of a rubber spacer bonded to it on either side whereas the new one is just the metal sprocket and that's it. It does have the little lip on one side but it's still about 1/8" thinner than the stock one. When I torqued it onto the shaft it has just enough play to be able to feel it move. Like I said, it's roughly 1/8" thinner. Now my question is whether or not I should eveen try to ride it like that. I looked at the fiche and there is an oil seal on the shaft in the crankcase. The splined end of the shaft was pretty clean due to the rubber shoulder of the stock sprocket keeping the chain lube and grime out of the hole. This new one obvioously won't do such a good job. Then there's the thought of that bare steel rubbing against the alloy of the case. Anybody had this type of situation before? What did you do/how did you handle it? I bought the chain and sprockets as a kit so if I get enough negative answers I'll just have to eat the ~ $30 for a new countershaft stock sprocket. Thanks in advance and let the opinions fly!

I have one from a '95 900RR that is full adjustable. I bought it years ago for the bird so I could futz with suspension settings. I had to re-spring it for the weight and basically set it and forgot it. Now my much lighter-than-me wife is riding it so I took that one off and put the stocker back on.....she never noticed a difference. Now I have taken that heavier spring off of it to put on my new bike so the shock is just sitting on the shelf. I paid $50 for it then....make me an offer if you are interested. My as well rebuild and upgrade at the same time, right? I can't get onto this (or pretty much anything else that may be entertaining) website at work so you can contact me at urloozn@hotmail.com. Thanks and good luck!

Funds received, seat shipped out. Thank you for playing.

There is a pending sale as of last week. Will report on conclusion of sale when funds received.

Here are a few more pics of the seat. As you can see there are no tears or rips anywhere. The thing is perfect and pre-broken in! Woo Hooo! Butt cheeks rejoice!

Hello boys and girls! My beloved 'Bird has been adopted by my lovely wife and the Corbin dish is too high for her to reach the ground. So my loss is your gain. I have a Gunfighter saddle in all carbon fiber leather for sale. It has the stitching on the 'drivers seat' and a light grey welt on it. No tears or anything like that on it at all. I am out of town at the moment and I only have the one picture now but PM me and I can send you more when I get home. I will also include a bottle of Corbin Saddle Cream with the seat. I am asking $250 but won't turn away any reasonable offers. If I don't get any bites here then it will end up on Fleabay. Thanks! Ken

Hello boys and girls! Sorry for the delay on an update. Here's the deal on the problem: - Checked FPR - No leaks and producing proper pressure. - Checked all four plugs - Looked good so cleaned, re-gapped and put 'em back in. - Checked coils as per manual - all up to spec. - Finally looked into the loom plug and there she be. One of the pins had shortd out and burned up. It was black and the plug had been melting away. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) it was on the corner so it didn't affect any of the other pins. But I think that is the reason it was intermittent. It would run well for a little while then start stumbling and backfiring. Mind you, this all happened within an afternoon so I wasn't riding it for a month with a possible engine detonation. Anyway, I researched here and on other forums and found a link to a fix with pictures. The author of the link is a guy I've met before (porterb123) so I have no reason to not trust his handiwork. I did the fix (took about 2 hours...yeah, I know. I'm slow but VERY detail oriented and a perfectionist) and rode it up and down the highway in front of my houe for about a half hour. It's a 4 mile stretch from the two turn around points I chose and I rode it one way tached up to 7k at 50 mph, then back in 6th gear at 45mph to see if it would give me any trouble..none. Then my wife and I rode to Baton Rouge (120 miles rount trip)to meet some friends Thursday again with no trouble. The one that closed the book on the problem for me was that we did almost 500 miles yesterday without a hiccup. BUT......the FI light still comes on. I read up on how to pull the codes (neutral, idling, kickstand down) and found that it was the knock sensor. I really like that little add on in the system. You can check the codes without any special tools....like a paper clip in the test loom for a Suzuki. So the manual says that it would run fine without the sensor but I'm not playing that game anymore. I was able to replicate the same code every time so I'm reasonably sure that its correct. I ordered a new one and will put it in as soon as I get it.

I've got a stocker off of my '99 if you still need one. It had about 10k on it when I swapped it for the RR one. I'd sell you that one cheap. Or, since I 'upgraded' to the RR shock and a 16kg spring and never once adjusted it after install, I could sell you that setup for a reasonable amount and put the stocker back on my bike. It's from a '95 CBR900RR and is fully adjustable. Let me know.

It's a 99 with about 48k-ish. Wifes's been riding it so I'm not exactly sure anymore. It all happened the day before I went offshore for 14 days so I haven't been able to get into it at all. No 'loom fix' as I didn't think that was the problem. The light was on all the time and it ran fine for years until now. I am fishing for suggestions to start checking when I get home.

Bump. C'mon guys, going home in a few days. So far, check battery and charging system, vent lines on the tank and from another thread the fuel pressure regulator. Any other suggestions?

The battery is about 5 years old. Didn't think of that one. I'll have to check it out. Now that you mention it, we did pop the top a few times. Otherwise it had time to sit and maybe bleed down any vacuum that may have built up. I'll have to look into that as well. My brother also told me about a problem a friend had with similar symptoms. I don't remember the exact chain of events but it ended up being a stuck thermostat causing the FI to think the engine was cooler that it was and running on 'choke.' He said after they changed the $8 thermostat the truck ran with no problems. Since my thermostat is now 10 years old it may be worth looking at. Keep the suggestions coming!

Hello boys and girls! I haven't been on here in a while since I ride a Honda and it doesn't give me any trouble! . . . . . . . . . . . . .....until now. I just bought a Triumph Tiger and now my lovely wife has inherited the Blackbird. I put 46k on it and she's been riding it for about two months now with no trouble. Then the 'event' happened. We were on a ride with some friends. That morning I had gassed up the 'Bird then walked over and gassed up the Tiger with the same hose and the same gas. About 75 miles in, the 'bird started stumbling and even backfired once. My wife stopped and someone came to get me at the next corner where we were waiting (radio comms between point and rear guard.) When I got there it started and ran fine for me. I have a PCII on it and had dyno'ed it last year. I thought the ECU had finally rebelled against the Power Commander so I took it out and plugged the stock harness back in. As a side note, the FI light was always on when I had the PCII installed. I had called Dynojet years ago and they said it was just something to live with and that 'they all did that.' It ran like that since 2003 with no trouble at all, just the light on all the time. When I took it out of the circuit the FI light went out so I thought the problem had been fixed. Then I took it for a test run about a mile or so each way. I tried it lugged going uphill, reving going uphill and I even tried to see if it would pop on the way downhill. It ran fine. So we took off again. About 20 minutes later we stopped for a water break for about 10 minutes then left. Five minutes later it started doing it again and my wife decided she didn't want to ride it like that because it was surging on her. We went back to the gas station and drained the tank because we thought it was bad gas (even though the Tiger was running great on the same gas). Put 5 gallons of fresh gas into it and it started and ran fine. We took secondary roads on the way home and about 20 miles from home she took the lead and got on the interstate. She was HAULING ASS. It was running fine for about ten miles. Just before we exited from that highway onto the other for the last leg home it started stumbling and backfiring again. She limped it to a gas station and I committed a cardinal sin: I went home and got a trailer for my 'Bird. So now I am offshore for another week or so, unable to tinker on it at all and I decided to turn to this bunch for advice. Again, this is a '99 with about 48k on it. I have a K&N, Micron slip-ons and it was just dynoed with the PCII last April and has run fine ever since. I even changed the plugs in it right after the dyno run because it had been running rich and the guy reccomended it. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks and have a great week!

I have one at home from my '99. It's just gathering dust in my garage. I'm out of town but I could get my wife to ship it to you if you wanted? Email me (urloozn@hotmail.com) with an address and I can send you a pic or two. I have a Corbin now and kept it for when the wife rode with me. She has her own VFR now so I can ride solo. Let me know......

I have the Datatool unit also. It was a straightforward install, but you do have to do a lot of splicing. I did get a little nervous about that! The only 'problem' I have is that on my generation (1999) the instruments are all electronic, so you are dealing with really small voltages. Sometimes when you are in neutral it will just 'spin' around and not set on a certain number (should be zero at neutral.) This is a little disconcerting when you first put it on and you'll think it's broken. What it is is that your instruments are receiving such low voltages (milli-volts, actually) that the unit gets confused and just spins. Also, when you are easing up the gears, I mean really just barely accelerating, it will sometimes be a gear or so behind. I bought mine years ago when I made my first trip to the mountains and had the whisper quiet stock exhaust on. You couldn't really hear the engine at all so I wanted this for gear choice. Didn't really matter. The turns were so close together and you were running so hard that you didn't really have the TIME to look at it. Still, it does look cool and serves a purpose. Hope this helps! Oh, I took pictures of the install and I'll try to find them. I have never had much luck posting pics here but I could probably email them to you if you want.

Hello folks! I need some help here. I was wondering if any of you farkle monkeys knew where I could get a Datel voltmeter and what the price might be? Wouldn't want to get screwed on it. Gonna put one on the 'Bird and one on the KLR for a trip to Alaska. Any help would be appreciated.

OK, how about the headphones? SHould I get the JLM or Autocom units? Is there another brand/model that would work better?

You have a PM.

Hello boyos! I am taking a trip to Key West in October and I need some advice on headphones. I will be aquiring a Delphi XM MiFi for the trip and I want to get a good powerful set of helmet headphones. I probably won't get the intercom/two way option just yet but I would like a set with that available. I KNOW with all you worldly travellers out there somebody has an opinion on whats the best, so give!